Abstract
Uveal melanoma (UM) arises from the dendritic melanocytes in the choroid, ciliary body, or iris. UM is different from skin melanoma and not related to BRAF mutations but to GNAQ initiation mutations; it has an exquisite predilection for metastasizing to the liver via hematogenous spread, and it arises in an immune privilege site. Pathologic characteristics of UM with unfavorable prognosis for metastasis include large tumor volume (reflected in the AJCC staging), epithelioid melanoma as a predominant cellularity (spindle-, epithelioid-, or mixed-cell types), ciliary body location, diffuse-type tumor, ring melanoma of the iris, presence of vascular mimickers, and extraocular extension. Molecular prognostication for metastasis relies on testing the tumor cells. Cytologic evaluation of fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) submitted during brachytherapy implantation is a safeguard against submitting cells other than tumor for molecular and assurance for quality of the sample.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Uveal Melanoma |
| Subtitle of host publication | Biology and Management |
| Publisher | Springer International Publishing |
| Pages | 37-52 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9783030781170 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9783030781163 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2021 |
Keywords
- Epithelioid melanoma
- Fine-needle aspiration biopsy
- Histopathologic risk factors
- Staging
- Vascular mimickers
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)